Frequently Asked Questions

Background Checks

1. Q: What is the difference between an instant rap sheet and a manual county court search?
   A: An instant rap sheet is returned within 10 seconds, whereas a manual criminal background check requires a court reporter to physically visit the courthouse to manually check the records and requires 3 business days for results. A Rap Sheet background search checks for felonies, misdemeanors, sex offenses, DUI tickets, and other offenses. A manual county court search should be requested when you need a very thorough criminal history check for a particular instance or county. This product is also great if one of the instant for manual database products is not available in your area. This data comes directly from court and county records searched by court researchers and is one of the most reliable sources.
   
   
2. Q: How many states will an instant rap sheet background check search?
   A: All are searched for at least one of the three categories: court records, department of corrections and sex offenders.
   
   
3. Q: When should I use a OFAC Patriot Act search?
   A: This product should always be requested regardless if you are granting credit or screening applicants. In response to the Patriot Act, it is required by law that all businesses screen applicants against OFAC.
   
   
4. Q: What is OFAC?
   A: OFAC, Office of Foreign Assets Control, is a government watch list of criminals and terrorists collected from databases around the world. This database was created as a result of the USA Patriot Act.